Ben Bradlee, executive editor of The Washington Post, 1968-1991, put his newspaper on the line to defend the freedom of the press. In 1971, over President Nixons objections, the Post published the scathing Pentagon Papers after winning permission from the Supreme Court. In 1972, Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward unraveled Watergate, which led to Nixons resignation. Bradlee waited until his reporters provided solid evidence and then went for the jugular.
Bradlee died of Alzheimers on Oct. 21. He was 93. May his unbowed legacy of fair and ethical principles guide us for generations to come.
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